This tour begins with your arrival at Arusha’s Kilimanjaro International Airport when you are met by a tour representative and driven to Rivertrees Country Inn. Lying an hour out of town on the foothills of Mount Meru and with distant views of Kilimanjaro, the tallest peak in Africa, Rivertrees is the ideal place to rest and relax after your journey. There is a swimming pool and sun deck as well as complimentary Wi-Fi to catch up with news from home. The lodge has several interesting trails along the banks of the Usa River if you would like to stretch your legs and look for local wildlife like birds and perhaps a monkey or two.

An early morning start gets you to nearby Arusha National Park for a day of adventure. It is one of Tanzania’s smallest conservation areas but surprisingly diverse: Arusha’s wetlands are home to hippo, its forests hide monkeys and gaudy birds while its grasslands are grazed by elephant, buffalo and antelope and patrolled by leopards and spotted hyenas. You mix your game drives with walking and canoe trips to gain an exclusive insight into the Arusha environment. After a day of discovery, you head back to Rivertrees Country Inn for a well-deserved dinner and another restful night between crisp cotton bedsheets.

After breakfast at Rivertrees you drive to Lake Manyara, one of the Rift Valley’s most famous lakes and home to impressive concentrations of birds and large mammals. There is time for an afternoon drive in Lake Manyara National Park before checking in at Manyara Green Camp, a charismatic tented camp set up in the south of the park at the base of a waterfall. Your tented suite is large enough to hold a double bed and luggage racks, and each has its own private bathroom attached. The next day is spent in the national park, beginning with a morning walk along the lakeshore to be followed by a game drive which turns into a spot-lit night drive, your chance to see Africa’s nocturnal creatures on the prowl. You return to candlelight and a delicious dinner at Manyara Green Camp.

The day begins with a morning game drive out of the park plus a treetop canopy walk, your opportunity to look for seldom-seen wildlife in the tops of forest trees, especially monkeys, tree squirrels and birds. You then arrive at Mto wa Mbu traditional village for a walking or biking tour before checking in at Sanctuary Ngorongoro Crater Camp, your accommodation for the night. Set close to the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater, this chic tented camp is the perfect place to base yourself for a Ngorongoro safari: it lies close to the road down into the Crater which puts you among the first vehicles onto the Crater floor the next day.

An early start gets you into the Ngorongoro Crater before everyone else and you can begin your morning game viewing. The Crater is home to Africa’s Big 5 – lion, elephant, buffalo, rhino and leopard – and it is not unusual to see most, if not all of them, in the course of a single drive. After a picnic lunch you begin the journey to the central Serengeti and Banagi Green Camp, your home for the next three nights. A stunning location near the Grumeti River assures gold-standard game viewing throughout the year. The region is at its most dramatic during the mid-year months when the Wildebeest Migration thunders in. You have two days of morning and afternoon drives to look forward to, returning each evening to a comfortable tented suite with solar-powered lighting and 3-course dinners served under the stars.

After breakfast at Banagi Green Camp you are transferred to local Seronera Airstrip for the 2-hour flight to Arusha Airport for your onward travel arrangements and the end of this tour.